


walk in the dark (with a friend)

by octoberwithoutyou



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Friendship, Gen, K-2SO-Centric, Pre-Rogue One, someone said to write a k2 centric fic and i was like alright
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-22
Updated: 2017-01-22
Packaged: 2018-09-19 02:53:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9414788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/octoberwithoutyou/pseuds/octoberwithoutyou
Summary: K-2SO knew he had been a part of the Empire as a security droid, but he did not consider that a part of his life.For K-2SO, his life started when he was turned on by a rebel kid, who had reprogrammed him to serve the Alliance.





	

K-2SO had no memories prior of his reprogramming. 

He knew he had worked for the Empire for an undetermined amount of time, but he did not think of it as part of his life.

For K-2SO, his life started suddenly, when he was turned on by a teenager with a dirty face and a cut on his forehead, brow furrowed in concentration.

In a different time, K-2SO would have identified the insignia on his clothing and eliminate him instantly, no questions asked. He was merely a security robot, after all. But in that moment, he only felt annoyance.

"Did you turn me off?" He asked the kid, who jumped slightly, looking up at K-2SO from a bundle of wires that stuck out of the droid's chest. Effortlessly, he grabbed the kid by his jacket. 

"Wait, no, I haven't finished!"

"I will finish myself." K-2SO replied, dropping the kid to the ground. 

"We don't have time." The kid hissed. K-2SO truly looked at his surroundings for the first time. "I am Cassian Andor. I'm part of the Alliance, and you have to listen to me."

The mention of the Alliance didn't stop the droid from untangling the wires and placing them back to their correct places. “You’ve reprogrammed me.” K-2SO stated, his database now beginning to work normally.

“We can't talk now. I've stopped them for a while, but now… I just need an exit so I can get to my ship.”

“You reprogrammed me just so I could help you escape?”

“Are you going to help me?”

He didn’t have an option, had he? He had been reprogrammed to serve the Alliance, and the skinny kid in front of him was part of it. Except… This felt different. It wasn’t free will, but it was close. The answer was much complex than that, and K-2SO could stay there all day thinking of it until he found a word in Basic to describe it. It would usually take less, but his circuits were a bit slow.

In a close distance, something exploded, causing the kid to jump, his face a mask of fear and hopelessness for almost a full second before it slipped back to a neutral expression. K-2SO saw how he gripped his blaster tighter, his body tensing. For the first time, he looked older than the child he was.

K-2SO found it terrifying. And, for a droid that was still adapting to emotions, it was quite overwhelming. He accessed the database of the HQs for its blueprints, and found three exits near them, one of them in a hangar where the kid’s ship- he’d said his name was Cassian-could be. 

“Follow me, quickly.”

 

Once in the ship, far away from the danger, Cassian turned to K-2SO. 

“Do you need help with the…?” He asked, pointed at some of the wires that still stuck out of K-2SO. 

“I can handle it. You’ve done enough damage as it is.” K-2SO answered. It wasn’t exactly true, the kid had done a pretty good job, considering his age. He knew Cassian was watching him work, and maybe he was a little slower as he finished putting everything into place. Just so he could be better next time.

“I didn’t mean to program a personality.” Cassian admitted, taking off his jacket and revealing a cut in his arm. 

“You tried to program me with the sole purpose of telling you where to go.”

“I’m not an expert, okay?” He said, defensive. K-2SO didn’t have to scan him to know he was exhausted. “I’m only a spy.”

K-2SO finished and took a look around the ship. It was small, only big enough for three or four humanoid forms, the control panel, and two seats. “Were you on your own?”

Cassian looked down at medikit on his lap as he searched for something to clean his wound with. K-2SO could sense his distress. “My pilot died.” He answered brusquely. 

“I’m sorry to hear that.” K-2SO responded, because that was amongst the correct answers in that sort of protocols.

Cassian stared at the medikit, a bacta patch on his hand, frozen. It lasted less than a minute, and after that he continued working on his cut. “She was willing to give her life for the Rebellion.” He replied, delivered like a script. Emotionless. K-2SO was sure he had repeated himself that a few times before. How old was he, again? 

 

They arrived to the base, and K-2SO was left in a storage room, locked in. The droid didn’t know where Cassian was, and he doubted he would see him again. They clearly didn’t think a young spy was able to completely reprogram an Imperial robot. He had been lucky they hadn’t turned him off as soon as they stepped out of the ship.

Now, it was time to prepare an escape. 

When a robot is given a personality, everything becomes complicated. He had a directive to follow, but he didn’t have to follow it blindly. It could bring many problems, and that was why most droid didn’t have a personality. It was as close as free will they were going to get.

In that moment, K-2SO knew he was going to get deactivated. It was the Alliance’s decision, and he should respect it. On the other side, he could serve the Alliance best if he was fully functioning. His self-preservation was a better option.

However, his reasoning was pointless, because as soon as he scanned the room for possible escape routes, the door opened. Cassian came in, in the same clothes he was wearing when K-2SO first met him, as exhausted as he was when K-2SO first met him.

“You can go out now.” He announced. 

“With all due respect, Cassian, I won’t let the Alliance deactivate me. In fact-”

“They’re not going to deactivate you.” Cassian cut him off. K-2SO saw there was the slightest smile on his face. “I convinced them not to. But you can't be left alone. You can stay… as my partner. Since my pilot died, I thought...”

“I don’t know how to pilot a ship.”

“That won’t be a problem. I can program it.” The comment was casual. He wasn’t trying to show off. It was almost as if wanting to assure K-2SO he could do that. That he shouldn’t worry.

But that was ridiculous. K-2SO was merely a droid he’d reprogrammed so he could survive.

“We have to go now, it’s almost lights out.”

“I don’t sleep, I don’t need it.”

“You can stay here, if you want to.”

Curious. Cassian had said he was a spy, but he didn’t feel the need to mask the disappointed at the thought. Of course, Cassian was also a kid. A kid who looked tired. Lonely. 

“I guess you’re the boss here. If you think following you is the best option, then I will.” And then, “Should I carry you to your bunk? I’m afraid you look like you might pass out in any moment.”

Cassian stared at him for moment, frowning. K-2SO was making a note to himself to think better before joking, when the kid laughed. “I’m fine. But we should really get going now, bunks are across the base.”

 

The bunk was empty. There were four bunk beds, all of them in different states of order. Cassian walked to the cleanest one, quickly taking off his jacket.

"I have a briefing tomorrow, so we'll have to be there early."

"It won't be difficult, since I can't sleep."

"Right. Goodnight, Kaytoo."

"Kaytoo?" 

"It's better to say K-2SO. Is it okay?"

There was something wrong with this boy, K-2SO thought. It was almost as if he was treating him like an organic being. But the droid decided he wouldn't question it. He would have to get used to it, since he was the boss now.

Besides, Kaytoo did sound like a better name than K-2SO.

"It is fine, Cassian. Goodnight."

 

Cassian was fourteen, Kaytoo found out when he was connected to the Alliance database to transfer information to his own database. It wasn't exactly the information he had been told to extract, but he considered it important nonetheless.

From Cassian's file, he also found out his connections with the Rebellion were older than him. His parents were Separatists, and died during a series of protests against the expansion of Republic militarism. 

He had been in a few underground organizations, but Kaytoo guessed there were more off the record. He hadn’t quite joined the Alliance, because, according to the file, he had always been around.

If he searched through the HoloNet, the stock pictures and videos showed teenagers of Cassian’s age, laughing and playing. Those videos must be outdated, he thought. Cassian didn’t laugh, and he certainly didn’t play. None of the kids on the base did that.

 

It had been a really long mission.

He had been Cassian’s companion for a year or so. He had grown considerably, and his voice cracked easily (Kaytoo had learned how many jokes he was allowed to crack before he got mad).

His voice was breaking at the briefing, telling his superiors about what had happened and handing them the datatape he had been sent to retrieve. It must be the exhaustion, Kaytoo thought. Cassian had refused to stay on the med bay despite a slight contusion.

They had sent them off quickly, and Cassian was trying his hardest not to yawn as they walked to his bunk. “My offer to pick you up is, as always, still up.”

Cassian didn’t accept it. He never did.

Once they reached the door, Kaytoo decided to try something. He placed his hand atop Cassian’s head.

“Uh, Kaytoo?”

“You did a good job today.” He informed him, tousling his hair. 

“Thank you?” Cassian frowned, taking a step back.

“I just thought you should know that.” 

“You’re really weird.” He said, with a tiny smile on his face. “You did a good job, too. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Kaytoo made sure to keep that a habit.

 

“What about that one, sitting next to the doors?”

“I could turn you off.” Cassian warned, looking down at his tray of food.

“Are you sure? He has attractive features.”

According to Kaytoo’s research, Cassian was in a stage of his life where he was beginning to grow interested in other people, romantically. And as usual, he was right. 

Cassian rolled his eyes. “I’m not interested in...that sort of things. Not now. And I’m not talking about this with you.”

“You didn’t say no.”

“That’s it. I’m turning you off.”

He didn’t do it, and Kaytoo decided it was only fair he stopped trying to help. He soon discovered Cassian was far too different from the things he researched through the Holonet. 

 

K-2SO had been there when Cassian killed for the first time.

He may have been involved in more than a few deaths before, but that time was different. 

Cassian was 16. He was keeping his hair longer than usual, trying it out, and his voice didn't crack as often. K-2SO had been there for a year or so, so he still didn't know if Cassian’s constant grumpy state was part of his personality, or one of the symptoms of puberty.

They were outside the base on a mission. Cassian was meeting an informant on an alley in the Outer Rim. K-2SO was waiting for Cassian on their ship, as an Imperial robot would draw too much attention. After an hour or so, he heard shouting approaching. He began preparing the ship to blast-off when Cassian entered, wide-eyed and shaken in a way Kaytoo had never seen before. Something bad must have happened.

“Take off! Now!” He yelled, and Kaytoo did that just as a few humanoid figures approached the ship, blasters in their hands and shooting at the ship almost blindly. 

“You really upsetted them this time. That must mean the mission is accomplished.” Kaytoo commented, turning to him. “Cassian? Are you hurt?”

He was shaking visibly, his back to Kaytoo. Kaytoo scanned him a few times, but he couldn’t find any injury other than bruises and a burn on his arm. It could be some sort of brain injury, or a contusion, something he couldn’t scan-

Cassian turned around. He was gripping his blaster so hard his knuckles were white. He didn’t look up from it. His hair was hiding most of his face, but it was evident he was crying. Cassian never cried.

The moment lasted less than a minute, but it was enough for a droid. 

Slowly, he placed the blaster on the holster in his belt and looked up at Kaytoo.

He wasn’t crying or shaking anymore, but Kaytoo found that even more unsettling. Not a physical injury, he realised. This was not something he had an answer to, unless... 

“I could perform a mind wipe, If you want.” He offered, as Cassian approached the cockpit, turning his back to Kaytoo again. 

“It’s fine. Thank you, Kaytoo.” He answered, in a voice so quiet it didn’t match his stony expression.

He didn’t speak much for the rest of the day.

(Kaytoo only heard the story behind that day a year later. They had to fly back to the same planet. On their way there, Kaytoo watched the expressions on Cassian’s face change until he spoke up, taking in a shaky breath. 

“I had to do it.” He started, staring straight ahead. “He was too slow, too… and I just couldn’t leave him, they would do...awful things to get information out of him. I had to.”

“It’s completely logical.” Kaytoo agreed. Cassian nodded.

“It was for the rebellion.”

“It was. It was the right thing to do, Cassian.”

“The right thing.” He repeated. There was a hint of doubt in his voice.)

 

“C’mon on, Kay! Trust me.” 

“Why should I trust you on this? There are 89.8% of possibilities the ship explodes!”

They had managed to find themselves stuck on a narrow cave, result of a bad crash landing. Their chances of surviving were low, and as the weight of the ship opened cracks on the walls, they were getting lower.

“We can do it, just..” His voice trailed off as he worked under the control panel. “This might work.” He continued, crawling out and sitting back down.

“Might?”

“We’ve gotten out of worse situations.”

Kaytoo couldn’t really argue against that. He had gotten used to being in the verge of death, anyway. “What do I have to do?”

 

Kaytoo only saw Cassian drunk once.

A major mission had gone better than expected, and a few members of the Alliance had gathered to celebrate. Even Cassian had agreed to go, and he wasn’t one to socialise that late at night. Kaytoo didn’t drink, but watching others becoming intoxicated was highly amusing.

He had lost sight of Cassian until it was time to return to the bunks. As the less drunk people helped gather all the garbage and turn off the lights, Kaytoo walked around the cafeteria, looking for Cassian.

“He left a few minutes ago. Left his jacket.” Someone told him, pointing at the jacket on the back of a chair. 

Kaytoo shook his head, grabbing the jacket. “I should go before he does something he’ll regret.”

 

He found Cassian not far away from the bunks, standing in front of one of the windows that showed the quad, staring ahead. Everything was dark outside, except for the lumen globes. 

“You left this in the cafeteria.” Kaytoo informed him in a annoyed tone. “According to my temperature sensor, you must be freezing! I don’t know how you-”

“Thank you, Kaytoo.” Cassian interrupted him, eyes glossy and speech slightly slurred. He took the jacket but didn’t put it on.

“For how long have you been here?” The droid then asked. “How much did you drink?”

“I’m not that drunk.” He rolled his eyes. “I was just thinking.”

“You do know parties are for social interactions, right?”

“I don’t like parties. I just wanted to see if the alcohol was worth it.”

“Well, was it?”

“I don’t like how I feel. I’m… I don’t know how I got here.” 

Cassian stumbled with his own feet, and Kaytoo decided it was enough. He picked him up and headed to the bunks. “I’m not your babysitter, you know.”

“I would have gotten to my bunk one way or another.” Cassian replied, not even protesting. Perhaps he was too intoxicated to. “Remind me not to drink Lum again.” He sighed. “Kay? You don’t have to do this.”

“I know I don’t.” Kaytoo replied. “But who’s going to do it, if not me?”

He meant that as a joke, but Cassian didn’t laugh, he just nodded, looking away for a moment, eyes unfocused. 

“I didn’t reprogram you just to save my ass.” He muttered. “I… I was just a kid. I wanted a friend.”

“Do you think I’m doing this because you programmed me this way?” Kaytoo asked. Cassian just stared at him. “You aren’t that good at programming. ”

That did make Cassian laugh. “But I…”

“Friends. I’ve never thought of it. But I do like that word. Are we friends, Cassian?”

“We are.” Cassian answered, quietly.

“Drunkenness can cause memory loss. Would you like me to remind you in the morning?”

“I’m going to be very embarrassed.”

“I know, and that’s why I would like to.”

 

Kaytoo did remind Cassian in the morning. And as both of them had thought, he was quite embarrassed. But after that (and the hangover) faded, Kaytoo saw a chance in Cassian. As if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Cassian thought too much, Kaytoo reckoned. He also kept everything to himself. Who knows for how long he had thought of talking to Kaytoo about that?

None of them really said the word out loud, but to Kaytoo, it was always present. Kaytoo was Cassian’s only friend in the galaxy. But that was fine. Somewhere in between the day he was turned on and helped a rebel kid escape, the day he heard a terrified boy doubt about his only purpose in life, and the day he carried a drunk man to his bunk, Kaytoo realised that Cassian’s was Kaytoo’s only friend, too.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me at cahssian in tumblr!! title comes from the phrase “I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light” by hellen keller, and inspired this fic.


End file.
